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The Pharma Career Ladder · The first-line manager · Step 7: Hiring and onboarding · Lesson 10

Building a bench

Always knowing your next two candidates

By Ahmed El Menshawy · 20 years in pharma, from medical rep to country manager in the UAE. Founder of RepPharma. LinkedIn
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Most vacancies start the same way. A rep resigns, and the manager opens a blank search that day.

Then come the weeks of CVs, interviews and approvals. Meanwhile, the doctors in that territory are seeing someone else's rep.

In my teams, I try to keep a bench. Not a formal pipeline. Just two names I would be glad to hire if a seat opened tomorrow.

How I build it:

  • A short list of people I would hire now. Good reps I have met in the field, at congresses, in past interviews.
  • Staying in touch with strong candidates I could not hire last time. A coffee once in a while, nothing more.
  • Asking my best reps who they would want on the team. Good people tend to know other good people.

And one rule I hold to. A bench is a list of names, not a promise. I never hint at a job I cannot offer, and when a vacancy opens, it goes through HR's process like any other.

The bench only means I am not starting from zero.

“The best time to find your next rep is before you need one.”
Building a bench: Always knowing your next two candidates

Lesson 10 of 12 in Step 7: Hiring and onboarding, with the full guide and a checklist for this week.

More lessons in step 7: Hiring and onboarding

Lesson 1Hiring for behaviour, not charmStructured interviews beat gut feelLesson 2The questions that predictPast behaviour, specific examplesLesson 3The field ride before the offerSeeing the candidate in a real clinicLesson 4Hiring from a competitorWhat transfers and what does notLesson 5The first dayWhat a new rep should walk away withLesson 6The first thirty daysProduct, territory, and one real callLesson 7The buddy systemPairing a new rep with the right colleagueLesson 8Certifying a new repWhat they must prove before going soloLesson 9When a new hire is not workingDeciding early, and deciding fairlyLesson 11Retaining your best repThe conversation you have before they leaveLesson 12Why reps really resignWhat the exit interview says, and what sits underneath

Hiring and onboarding, in RepPharma

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